Bundeswehr

Also known as Federal Defence Forces of Germany, mil Germany, military of Germany, German military, Armed forces of Germany, German armed forces, German Bundeswehr, Bw

The '''' (, Federal Defence) are the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. The is divided into a military part (armed forces or Streitkräfte'') and a civil part. The military part consists of the four armed forces: German Army, German Navy, German Air Force and Cyber and Information Domain Service, which are supported by the Bundeswehr Joint Support Command.

AI overview

The Bundeswehr is the armed forces of Germany, consisting of both military and civilian components that work together to provide national defense. The military side includes four branches—the German Army, Navy, Air Force, and Cyber and Information Domain Service—all supported by a joint command structure.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

Key facts

National military.name: Federal Defence Forces
National military.image: Logo of the Bundeswehr.svg
National military.image_size: 185
National military.motto: ("We. Serve. Germany.")
National military.branches: 25px German Army 25px German Navy 25px German Air Force 25px Cyber and Information Domain Service
National military.headquarters: Berlin, Bonn, and Potsdam
National military.chief minister: Friedrich Merz
National military.chief minister_title: Chancellor
National military.minister: Boris Pistorius
National military.minister_title: Defence Minister
National military.commander: Carsten Breuer
National military.commander_title: Inspector General
National military.age: 17
National military.conscription: No (conscription suspended since July 2011 by law)
National military.active: 186,221 (February 28, 2026)
National military.ranked: 30th
National military.reserve: ≈ 860,000 (2025)
National military.deployed: 2,000

via Wikipedia infobox

Research organization · ROR

Type: Government
Founded: 1955
Location: Berlin, Germany
Also known as: German Armed Forces, German Army, German Military
Status: Active

Website →Wikipedia →ROR →

ISNI 0000 0004 0555 5224

Wikidata facts

Employees: 81205
Official website: www.bundeswehr.de
Image: BW 1984 HamburgUebung 016.jpg
Licence plate code: Y

Show 5 more facts

inception: 1955-11-12
Commons category: Bundeswehr
social media followers: 146492
native label: Bundeswehr
short name: Bw

Sources (8)

via Wikidata · CC0

~42 min read

Article

35 sections

Contents

History
Founding principles
Cold War: 1955–1990
German Reunification 1990
Reorientation
Coordination with European partners
Consequences of 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
Organisation
History of organisation
Senior leadership
Combat forces
Operational Command
Mission
Military spending
Representation of the budget since 2010
Operations
Equipment
Lists of equipment
Equipment of the army
Equipment of the air force
Equipment of the navy
Planned investments
Appearance
Uniforms
Ranks
Women
Rank structure
Recruitment
Awards
See also
References
Further reading
In German leaguage
In English leaguage
External links

, the had a strength of 186,221 active-duty military personnel and 81,205 civilians, placing it among the 30 largest military forces in the world, and making it the second largest in the European Union behind France. In addition, the has approximately 860,000 reserve personnel (2025). With the German military budget at $127 billion (€108.2 billion) for 2026, the is the fourth-highest-funded military in the world. Germany's defence spending had averaged approximately 1.2% of GDP over the preceding decade, well below the NATO guideline of 2%, which Germany first met in 2024. NATO's revised spending guidelines call for 3.5% of GDP allocated to defence and an additional 1.5% to critical infrastructure resilience, a threshold endorsed at the 2025 Hague summit. Germany is aiming to expand the to around 203,000 soldiers by 2031 to better cope with increasing responsibilities.